Good Chemistry
by LuxAmbrose
Summary: Liam Dunbar and Piper Lynch have disliked each other after one chemistry class and a series of unfortunate events. But two years later, a new threat looms over their senior year. A threat which will require Liam and Piper to learn to trust each other or let the secrets they both keep tear everything they know and love apart. R/R!
1. Prologue

**A/N: This is just fluffy one-shot that's been rolling around in my head for a couple of days. I adore Liam on TW and can't wait to see how his character develops during Season 5. I don't really know if I have ambitions to turn this story into more than a one-shot, but we'll see depending on the feedback!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Teen Wolf, but if I do own Piper!**

Good Chemistry

After the year he'd had, Liam Dunbar wasn't sure of too much in life. Mentally he kept a running tally of the things he knew for certain: no matter how old he got his mother always cried on the first day of school, his stepfather would never run out of inspirational sayings, and chemistry was probably the worst thing that was ever going to happen to him. From his locker, he could see the open classroom door that led into the lab and his stomach turned in an uncomfortable knot. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth as Liam thought about the impending and unavoidable hour.

All summer long his stepdad had tried to convince Liam that honors chemistry was going to be fine. It wasn't that much harder than normal sophomore chemistry and once Liam figured out the basic building blocks, the rest would be a cinch. But Liam's stepfather was unnaturally good with math and science. Things like chemical equations, algebra, and physics came easily to the man, who could probably solve for _x_ in his sleep. Science did not come easily to Liam, but at least last year he'd just taken freshman biology. The worst that biology required was dissecting a frog. Chemistry involved precise measurements, corrosive chemicals, and the potential for disaster at every turn.

Chemistry was practically begging Liam to accidentally blow up a classroom.

"Dude, are you okay?" Mason's voice cut into Liam's reverie.

"Yeah," he said tightly. "Why?"

Liam's best friend raised an eyebrow and then looked pointedly down at Liam's hands. Following his gaze, Liam found that he was unknowingly squeezing his textbook so hard that he'd put tiny dents in the cover, one for each of his fingers. "I don't know what you're freaking out about, it's just chemistry."

"I hate science," he muttered. "I suck at it and I have to ace this class."

Mason didn't seem at all impressed by Liam's sense of urgency and doom. "Your stepdad is not going to suddenly decide he hates you just because you might suck at chemistry."

"No, but failing honors chem will get me kicked off the team." Mason considered Liam's statement and then clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"You are not going to fail."

But Liam and Mason both knew that this was a statement neither could really promise. Somehow Liam managed to scrape through the second semester of last year with passing grades, but even he'd been disappointed with his lackluster academic performance. It turned out that running around all of creation dealing with assassins, werejaguars, and berserkers came with a price. This year had to be different, Liam told himself numerous times. Already the full moons were much easier to get through and Liam had gone all summer without a single incident involving his newly gained wolf powers and his explosive temper.

"Boys," said a familiar smoky voice.

Lydia Martin acknowledged them with a slight incline of her head as she passed by, holding her books in her arms and letting her strawberry blonde hair trail after her. Liam fought the urge to wrinkle his nose. Months later he still hadn't gotten used to Lydia's perfume, far too floral for his taste.

"Come on, the second bell's about to ring," muttered Mason and he started leading the way through the throng of students to the chemistry room. Liam fell into step with him.

"Hey, so are we still on for training this weekend before Lydia's party?" Liam asked, changing the subject to anything but chemistry.

Mason suddenly looked guilty and Liam could hear his heart speed up to a rapid clip. "I'm so sorry, I sort of promised Brett that we'd hang out on Saturday." Liam's eyebrows flew up. That was a new development, the last he'd heard Mason was single and planning on enjoying every 'crazy minute of it' as he'd said.

"Brett as in," his voice trailed off uncertainly.

"As in super hot werewolf from Devenford Brett," confirmed Mason. Liam suppressed the tiniest of shudders at the thought of his former teammate. The last time he'd seen Brett was the Devenford-Beacon Hills lacrosse game where Liam had had his ass handed to him on a silver platter. He wouldn't soon forget the lesson Brett taught him, or the miserable way Liam had to learn it.

"So, let me get this straight," said Liam piecing everything together. "You're ditching me so you can go out on a date with my former teammate who probably still definitely hates me?" Mason squirmed uncomfortably and Liam enjoyed every second of it. So often it was Mason pointing out Liam's flaws and failings, that it felt good every once in a while to poke the stick at Mason.

"I mean, if you want to put it like that," replied Mason as they walked into the chemistry classroom. Liam, so engrossed in listening to Mason trip through his excuses, hadn't even realized they were already in the room until Mason led them to one of the four-top tables. "Besides, Brett doesn't hate you. He even said last night that he'd be up for trying to hang out sometime."

Liam grinned at his friend and dropped his bag on the counter top. "I am definitely not going to be the third wheel on your alone time, or whatever you're going to call it."

Mason returned his grin and started pulling his books out of his backpack. "Maybe if you could meet a girl without embarrassing the shit out of yourself then we could double." They were back in familiar and comfortable roles. "You know what amazes me about you, Liam?"

"No, but I get the feeling you're going to tell me any way."

"It's that you're a tall, good-looking, lacrosse star and you can't talk to a girl without totally falling apart." Liam felt his cheeks burn at Mason's teasing. As much as he didn't want to admit it, his friend was right. Short of a couple of kisses and a few movie dates last year, Liam had absolutely zero experience with girls. For so long he'd put all of his focus into lacrosse that when he finally woke up and realized that girls were, well, _girls_, Liam felt light-years behind. "I think your goal this year should be to find a cute girl, not make an idiot out of yourself, and make her your girlfriend."

Liam sat down on the stool opposite the table of Mason. "I don't think it works that way," he muttered.

The second bell rang just as a shadow fell over their table. "Excuse me," said a warm voice. "Is anyone sitting wit you guys?"

Liam raised his head to find a strange girl standing before their table. She probably stood just under five-six and had the brightest grey eyes Liam had ever seen. A torrent of dark brown waves tumbled over one of her shoulders, and she smiled nervously at the boys as though she were talking herself into showing more confidence than she actually had. Even then, she had one of the prettiest smiles Liam had ever seen. Her brilliant eyes danced pleasantly from behind her tortoise shell glasses, flickering nervously between Mason and Liam. "Have a seat," said Mason, purposely gesturing to the open seat next to Liam.

The girl's shoulders slumped slightly in relief and she slid onto the stool next to Liam's, hurriedly unpacking her things. "I'm Mason and this is Liam."

Straightening back up, the girl nodded. "I'm Piper Lynch."

Piper. Liam rolled the name over in his mind and decided that it suited her. "So, you're new?" Mason asked, driving the conversation.

"Yeah," she said and tucked her hair behind her ear. A pair of simple arrow shaped studs dotted her ears and Liam noticed a couple of thin gold bracelets looped her wrist. "My mom and I came up from Texas earlier this summer."

Under the table, Mason kicked Liam hard. He tried not to make a face, but still shot a glare at Mason all the same. "Wh-where in Texas?" Liam asked.

Piper turned the full force of her bright eyes on him. "Dallas," she answered and opened the front cover of her notebook.

"Oh God, don't tell me you're a Cowboys fan." The words left Liam's mouth before he could stop himself. Across the table, Mason's mouth fell open in total disbelief. But it was too late, the insult had already left his mouth and there was no way to take it back. In the microseconds after, Liam entertained the possible scenarios ranging from offense to her having to ask who the Dallas Cowboys were.

Then, to his amazement she grinned at him. "No, I've always been a Packers girl, I lived in Madison, Wisconsin until I was nine."

Liam could live with Green Bay. "Why Wisconsin you ask?" Piper asked the next question that danced on the tip of his tongue. "My mom is a college professor, she teaches literature and mythology and just took a job at Northern California State to head up the English department."

"So you're probably dreading chemistry too?" Liam asked, hopeful.

Piper rest her chin in her hand, tapping her long index finger against her cheek. She pondered his question for a long second before shaking her head. "Completely dreading it. I probably should have told you before you let me sit down that I suck so hard at science." Piper bit her lower lip to keep her playful smile at bay.

"Well, that's why you have me," said Mason. "You can't be any worse than Liam, he'll probably set the classroom on fire at least once."

Liam groaned and dropped his head back to look at the ceiling. What was the point of having a best friend if he didn't help build Liam's image in this pretty, new girl's eyes? Piper Lynch was a blank slate, she didn't know a thing about Liam and that was one of the few things he had working in his favor. "Hey, I don't judge, I've set fire to the kitchen so many times at my house that my mom won't let me cook anymore. On the upshot, I am excellent with a fire extinguisher so I've got you covered."

Liam's lips lifted into a smile, one that Piper shared with him. "I'll keep that in mind."

The final bell rang and Piper started, staring up at it. "I'm going to hate that sound, I can already tell," she said with a slight grimace.

Liam watched as Lydia's mom strode into the classroom to begin their first class of the year. From across the table, Mason raised his eyebrows, looked at Piper and then flashed a discreet thumbs up. _'She's cute, go for it_,' he mouthed. Liam could see just a sliver of Piper's profile as she turned away from him to take notes. Shooting Mason a look clearly meant to tell his friend to butt out, he was only met with judgment. _'Do it now_,' he said and motioned for Liam to get on with it.

Swallowing his fear, Liam waited until Mrs. Martin was engrossed in writing general class information on the board and he leaned toward Piper. Just as he was about to tap her on the shoulder, she turned back around. Liam snapped his hand behind his back, but if she noticed anything she said nothing. "Hey," he said in a whisper. "One of my friends is throwing a start of the year party on Saturday night, can you make it?"

Piper searched out Liam's face, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. Then her face smoothed and she rewarded him with a beaming smile. "Yeah, that'd be great. I haven't been out in forever."

Out of the corner of his eye, Liam could see Mason give him the thumbs up again. Piper turned back to continue taking notes, still smiling. Liam settled back into his seat, feeling as though nothing could go wrong. Even Chemistry didn't seem so bad as he started to take notes.

Liam wasn't sure what this year was going to bring, but he was sure of a few things: without fail his mother always cried on the first day of school, his dad would never run out of inspirational sayings, and honors chemistry may have been the best thing to ever happen to him.

**A/N: Don't you just love meet cutes and teenage boys being awkward? I had fun writing Mason and Liam's friendship, I love how its so natural and uncomplicated!**

**Anyway, let me know what you think or if there's any part you particularly enjoyed! Much love- Brose.**


	2. Jetlagged

**A/N – I couldn't help myself. After the one-shot, now prologue my mind started spinning and I ended up with an idea that I really loved. Plus I'm using this story as a vehicle to test a new plot planning/storyboarding method, so we'll see if it works! **

**So this story takes place at the start of Liam and Mason's senior year. I think senior year presents some unique life choices/challenges that make for fun writing. Plus I like the idea of getting to write Liam and Piper's relationship from a different angle – one with history.**

**Much love to all who reviewed, favorited and followed Good Chemistry! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Teen Wolf. I do own Piper and Julia Lynch.**

Chapter 1 – Jetlagged

_**August 30 – Sophomore Year**_

_ Piper Lynch had made the third round of Lydia Martin's house. The dread that had been rolling in the pit of her stomach all night was starting to reach its pinnacle. She carried a flimsy red plastic cup of beer in one hand, hot and entirely undrunk. Some strange junior handed it to her as she walked in the door, shouting 'Heyyyy' as if they were best friends before disappearing into the throng of her already wasted classmates. In Dallas she'd been to parties with a few of the older girls on the cross country team, but they'd never been quite like this. _

_ It was abundantly clear that Lydia Martin knew how to throw a party. Various concoctions of hard liquor and sugary mixers were being passed around in clear plastic stemless wineglasses. Food appeared out of seeming thin air, The living room opened into an ornate backyard, the brick columns wrapped with lights and the swimming pool already overflowing with fully clothed teenagers. Piper kept walking, moving unseen from room to room, hoping that nobody would notice the new girl all alone. _

_ That alone begged one all important question. Where in the holy hell was Liam?_

_ He'd promised to meet her at nine at Lydia's. But nine came and went and no Liam. When they'd discussed plans to meet, it had never occurred to her that he wouldn't show. Piper thought that he was genuinely looking forward to it. Had she been stupid? After all when she'd changed for the fourth time that evening her mother pointedly asked if Piper was going on a date. To which she said yes, unable to keep a blush from her cheeks. _

_ Now she felt extraordinarily stupid. Piper had gone out of the way to smooth and straighten her typically messy waves and put on a full face of makeup. She'd worn a brand new dress and boots all paired with a cute jacket and for what? For her supposed date to be a no show? _

_ "This sucks," she muttered under her breath and started looking around for an exit strategy. From where she stood near the back of the backyard she sat two options. The first was the gate, but was it was currently blocked by a knot of senior boys she didn't feel like crossing. If she could make it through the packed living room and slip out the front door, then she could run around the block and call her mom to come get her. Julia would listen to Piper's story, take her out for a huge M&M concrete from Falco's Frozen Custard and they would eat the whole cup together, sitting next to one another on Piper's bed roundly abusing men and discussing their literary heroes. Piper would make the case for Mr. Knightly over Mr. Darcy and Julia would shut her down with her personal favorite – Theodore Lawrence. The thought alone comforted Piper and she turned around to make an exit. _

_ "Careful!" Said a familiar voice. "Oh, hey Piper! I've been looking everywhere for you!" _

_ Looking up, Piper found Mason's smiling face staring down at her. "Hi!" She said, startled to see him and even more surprised that he'd been looking for her. _

_ Mason was in the presence of what Piper could only describe as Adonis in the flesh. His warm eyes were taking in Piper, set above perfectly sculpted cheekbones and beneath expertly coifed blonde hair. The way he stood reminded Piper of pictures of James Dean, head bowed and exuding bad boy confidence. Mason's eyes flickered between them and he straightened up. "Piper, this is my friend Brett. Brett this is Piper Lynch," he said._

_ Brett didn't smile, but his eyes held a certain warm regard as he held out his hand. Piper shook it and raised her eyebrows slightly at his firm grip. "Brett goes to Devenford Prep," he explained. "Piper just started at Beacon Hills, she moved up from Dallas." _

_ God bless Mason for many reasons, thought Piper, the least of which was that he could carry a conversation when there was almost none to be had. "How long have you been here?" Piper looked down at her watch. _

_ "About thirty minutes," she said surprised that it was still so early. It certainly felt like an eternity. A cool breeze ruffled her hair and she looked up to see a nearly full moon casting silvery beams across the lawn. _

_ "And Liam's not here." Mason finished her unspoken thought awkwardly. Slowly, Piper nodded and shrugged. _

_ "It's okay," she said, trying to play it cool. "It's not like he has any real obligation to be here." But Mason clenched his jaw. Something more than disappointment filtered across his handsome face. Was it concern? Or fear? Piper didn't know. _

_ Brett took another long look at Piper. "He was supposed to meet you here?" He asked, his voice unnaturally tight. _

_ Slowly, Piper nodded and cast a suspicious glance between the two of them. "Look it's not a big deal, I was just going to head home anyway," she said. But for all the coolness she tried to convey, Piper's stomach twisted and she felt the sting of rejection needle at her heart. She'd never had a boyfriend before, she hadn't even been on a real date; but, what little of Liam she knew, Piper liked. That he would just stand her up hurt more than it should. _

_ "It is a big deal," said Mason. "And I'm sure he has a really good reason for why he's not here." _

_ Brett turned away slightly to lean down to Mason. "I'm going to see if Scott's here," he muttered. Piper had heard that name a couple of times since the start of school. It had always been in reference to Scott McCall, the very handsome captain of the lacrosse team. Mason nodded meaningfully and Brett turned back to face Piper. "It was really nice to meet you Piper, I hope we get a real chance to hang out again."_

_ That time Brett did smile, causing a small army of butterflies to burst into Piper's stomach. She offered a smile in return, tucking a fat curl behind her ear. Mason watched Brett fade into the crowd before he turned back to Piper, clapping his hands together. "Mason, I know that we barely know each other, but is something going on that I should know about?" _

_ Mason brushed her question off with an easy laugh and slung his arm around her shoulder. "Nope, Liam is awesome on the lacrosse field and terrible with people. I'm guessing he's still at home staring at his reflection in the mirror, talking himself into coming here." _

_ It was a very sweet lie and Piper, not wanting to damage what could be a good friendship, accepted it without question. "Well the next time you see Liam tell him to grow a pair." _

_ Mason laughed and nodded. "Come on, there are a ton of other people here you should meet." As they walked back into Lydia's house, she didn't hear the distant sounds of howling. _

**Present Day**

Stifling a yawn, Piper Lynch pushed the obnoxiously long mass of her dark brown hair over her shoulder. Whoever booked her flight for eight-thirty in the morning ought to be lined up on a wall and shot, she thought savagely. Didn't that foolish person know an eight-thirty flight meant Nona would wake her up before the crack of dawn to get her to the airport a whopping two and a half hours early for her flight? After wandering the terminal to find the airport Starbucks, Piper indulged in a venti ice caramel latte. She sucked the whole thing down in the hope that a shock of caffeine to her sluggish system would keep her awake for the whole flight.

Piper was determined to work her way through a large chuck of _The Poisonwood Bible_, one of the recommended books on her AP Literature reading list. But the only way she could manage that at a tender eight thirty in the morning was with the aid of caffeine, good music, and quiet neighbors on the plane. Leaving the coffee shop, Piper passed the throngs beginning to teem at security. She checked her phone. It was drawing close to eight. Piper hitched her bag higher up her shoulder and aimed in the direction of the terminal.

Shifts in the crowd revealed all manner of travellers and Piper didn't pay much attention to them as she walked on. Every so often she entertained the notion that she would run into a familiar face on the complete other side of the country, but those things never happened to her. Instead she entertained herself with the possibilities of her book and the giant bag of Skittles she planned to buy during her layover. She checked the ceiling for the signs to see how far away her terminal was and upon looking down her mouth fell open.

Ahead of her were two familiar figures and one painfully familiar backpack. She'd sat behind that stupid backpack every day of the spring semester during honors pre-calc. Of all the unwelcome sights in the world that black backpack bearing the maroon 'BH' outlined in stark white with a name stitched beneath was near the top of her list. Every Beacon Hills lacrosse player had received one at the start of the spring semester, a donation from the lax parents who were beyond thrilled that the team had won an unprecedented four years in a row. When Piper imagined running into someone she knew, she'd always figured that it'd be someone she liked.

"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered.

As gate after gate passed, Piper silently prayed that the two boys would veer off to a different flight. But why would they, she through grimly. Knowing Piper's abysmal luck, she would end up with them on the flight out of Chicago.

Sure enough, the two boys turned at her terminal. The tallest boy paused and pulled his backpack around so he could dig his boarding pass out of the back pocket of his jeans. She took the opportunity to try and pass, maybe if she got ahead of the boys they'd miss her altogether and she could stay anonymous. Pushing her fingers through her messy waves, Piper tried to speed up to get around them. She reached into the back pocket of her navy short for her boarding pass. The universe, however, was clearly out to get her that morning.

At that precise moment, Liam Dunbar turned his head and his bright blue eyes found Piper almost immediately. Stopping dead in her tracks, she dropped her head back and looked up at the ceiling, cursing under her breath. Upon returning her gaze she found Brett Talbot grinning at her and Liam sharing her complete and utter displeasure.

Well, on Piper's end it wasn't complete and total displeasure. After all, she'd been friendly with Brett since meeting at the start of her sophomore year. Piper usually saw him at cross country meets and whenever she hung out with Mason, but this was the first time she'd seen him since the lacrosse state championship game. Forcing herself to ignore Liam, she made her way to Brett and they exchanged a brief hug.

"Hey Brett," she said, internally cringing at the awkwardness at her voice. It was strange to see him away from the confines of school or without Mason.

But Brett took it in easy stride. "Piper Lynch," he said in that cool voice of his. "What are you doing here?"

"I spent the last couple of weeks at my grandmother's," she said. Overhead the terminal speakers announced her boarding group. Piper thanked God for her mother's constant insistence on priority boarding and she held up her boarding pass.

"Save us a couple of spots?" Brett asked, looking shiftily toward Liam who rolled his eyes.

A wicked grin toyed at Piper's lips. "I don't know about that, don't you need an extra seat for Dunbar's ginormous ego?" She didn't even bother waiting to look at Liam's expression. Wheeling around with loose arms, Piper still heard Brett's poorly contained snort of laughter and Liam's indignant 'Hey!'

Piper shuffled along with the odd assortment of people into line. August at any airport brought out an unusual mix of travellers. Families headed home from their Disney vacations mingled among the businessmen and women. Bright summer clothes clashed spectacularly with crisp dress shirts and slacks. Young families and older couples teemed at the gate and Piper, not wanting to listen to the incessant and banal chatter, pushed her earphones in and turned up the music. Kendrick Lamar began blasting beats into hear ears and she started, turning the volume down hastily. Piper winced and turned the rap music off, she hadn't listened to her own music since her last run. By the time she found something worth listening to, the line was moving. She followed along and handed her boarding pass off. At length, Piper found an aisle seat and situated herself, book in her lap. One strange face after another came and went. Piper entertained opening her book when Brett and Liam filed down the aisle.

Just like Piper, Brett Talbot was about to start his senior year, although he'd be across the city at Devenford Prep. The tall, statuesque boy grinned and pointed at the middle seat. "Those for us?"

Behind Brett, Liam adjusted the backwards baseball cap he wore. Judging from the dark circles beneath his eyes, he hadn't slept any better than Piper did. She also knew from his frequent habit of strolling in late in the mornings that Liam was not a morning person.

"Yeah," she said tearing her gaze from Liam.

"I'll make him sit in the window seat, I promise," joked Brett with an obliging wink. Liam said nothing, but threw a smirk in Piper's direction before pushing through to the window seat.

As he passed he fixed his piercing blue eyes on Piper and said one of the very few words they ever said to each other. "Lynch."

"Dunbar," she said just as acidically.

"Well, now that we're all friends," teased Brett, clearly enjoying another bout of Piper and Liam's now infamous dislike for each other. Liam pushed his backpack under the seat in front of him and Brett settled with much more grace. Luckily for Piper, his bulk blocked most of Liam from her view, a fact for which she was immeasurably grateful. "Why in God's name are you all on this flight?"

Brett cast a glance at Liam. "We've been at lacrosse camp for the last two months," he answered. "I've got to be back in Beacon Hills by seven for the first team meeting of the year."

"Yeah, Mason told me you made captain at Devenford, congratulations!" She exclaimed.

"Same to you," said Brett, stretching his legs out as best as he could. "Mason told me you made cross country captain of both teams."

Just as a grin began to stretch across Piper's face, Liam leaned forward. "_You?"_ he asked incredulously, poking his blonde head around Brett to look at her. "You're cross country captain?"

Piper didn't know whether he was insulting her because that was what they did or if he was genuinely shocked that Coach Finstock had made her captain. Either way offense welled up in Piper's chest and she shot him a frosty glare. "Of course Piper's cross country captain," said Brett as if it were obvious. "She won our region and came in second at State. She's easily the best runner on your team."

She didn't miss the pointed look that Brett shot at Liam, a warning to play nice. "Don't worry," she said to Liam with a playful grin. "I beat up your teammates too bad on the course. I'd hate for you to be a few players short."

To this, Liam snorted in amusement. "As if you could."

Arching an eyebrow, Piper swept all of her hair over one shoulder. "Dunbar, you do know that it's my job to map out the practice routes? And as for me? I like the hills. I guess we'll really find out if all the lax boys did their training exercises over the summer." Liam grimaced and threw his back against his seat.

"This is going to be such a long day," she muttered and pushed her earbuds into her ears.

X X X

"So I'll see you at Mason's party next weekend?" Asked Brett as they walked towards baggage claim. On his other side Liam still wore his headphones, pointedly ignoring both of them. Piper didn't complain, somehow they'd managed to go all day without really speaking to one another.

"Wouldn't miss it," she replied.

Sign after sign passed until, at last, the trio walked out of the terminal and into baggage claim. Brett immediately spotted his family and with a wave over his shoulder, went off to meet them. Piper paused and started to scan the crowd. Where was she? Her mom promised multiple times over the past few days that she wouldn't forget what time Piper's flight got in. Yet, as she scanned the faces of the people milling about, Julia Lynch was nowhere to be seen.

"Your ride forget you?" A snarky voice filled her ear. Piper scowled and forced herself to keep her gaze straight. She would not let Liam goad her into another one of their 'who's snarkier than who' matches. Now was not the time and this was not one of those subjects that Piper wanted laid bare.

"I'm sure she's late," lied Piper stonily, keeping her face forward.

"I'm sure she is," said Liam, coughing over his amused chuckle.

Sometimes, Piper Lynch wondered exactly why it was that she didn't like Liam Dunbar. But then he went and said something like that. There he went again, plucking the exposed nerves that Piper tried hardest to hide from the world. She wasn't sure how he did it, but Liam Dunbar seemed to pick up on every lie she told, no matter how small.

"Dunbar," she said in a falsely sunny voice, still refusing to look at him.

"Yep?" He asked, popping the 'p.'

"How about you take one of your shiny lacrosse sticks and shove it right up-" but she didn't finish her thought.

A familiar figure cut into the center of her vision. A thin, willowy woman placed herself at the front of the gaggle waiting for their loved ones. In a sort of comical manner, the woman shielded her eyes and searched out furrowing her thin eyebrows. She wore a pair of light washed jeans and a gauzy pale blue popover shirt. Placing her other hand against her upper chest, Piper could see a thick stack of silver bracelets on her wrist and a couple of eccentric rings on her narrow fingers. A clip kept half of her slightly frizzy light brown hair away from her kind grey eyes, the mirror image of Piper's. Julia Lynch's gaze fell on Piper and her lips split into a brilliant smile.

"Mom!" Cried Piper and took off, leaving Liam Dunbar far behind in distance and in her thoughts.

Julia held her arms open to Piper. Depositing her bag on the floor at her mother's feet, Piper threw her arms around her mother and they embraced. "Oh I'm so happy you're home!" Said Julia.

"I'm glad to be home, you would not believe the flight I had."

Pulling back, concern creased the corner's of Julia's eyes. She waited for Piper to pick up her backpack and then put a motherly arm around Piper's shoulder. "Why?"

Piper cast a look back over her shoulder where Liam shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around gloomily. From a distance, Piper could see why some girls lost their minds over him. If she were a stranger, she'd probably take a second look at his long and lean figure, crowned with effortless blonde hair. Liam fit the description of all-American like he'd been the mold itself.

"Liam Dunbar," she said. Liam's eyes found hers, almost as if he'd been listening in on her conversation. Fierce gray crashed into pale blue and Piper shot him a quizzical look before turning away again.

"Liam, Liam," her mother repeated the name several times. "Isn't he that boy who stood you up sophomore year?"

Well, thought Piper acidically, hopefully he hadn't heard that. "The one and the same."

In a sign of motherly solidarity, Julia made a face and shook her head. "I still say that's the biggest mistake he's ever made."

Piper led Julia towards the baggage carousel to wait for her suitcases. "Oh, I don't know," she said breezily. "I say I dodged a bullet."

X X X

Piper's mom drove a little blue Honda SUV. It was the perfect car for rolling down the windows and letting the California summer air pour into the cabin. After spending all day cooped up on an airplane, a little West coast sun and fresh air was exactly what Piper needed. Leaning to the far right in her seat, she turned her face up to the shining sun and smiled into its welcoming rays.

"So, how is Nona?"

Julia drummed her fingers absently on the steering wheel. She'd set the radio station to some station that played an incessant stream of 60's and 70's music. Piper couldn't name the tune, but she tapped her foot along to the beat.

"Fine, though I think she tried to cook me every recipe she knows."

Her mother's musical laughter filled the car. Piper loved her mother's laugh, it reminded her of the best combinations of wind chimes and smoke. "Did she try send you back with enough food to feed a third world country, too?"

"No, but she did make enough breakfast this morning to feet her entire retirement community."

Piper knew it was wrong to make fun of Nona, but sometimes she couldn't help it. Julia's mother fit the textbook definition of overbearing grandmother. From the second Piper got off the plane in Florida to the exact moment she got out of the car Nona had obsessed over Piper's weight, her eating habits, sun exposure, exercise routine, whether she was still dating that nice boy, and if she'd consider coming to Florida for college. "The last thing she said to me when I got out of the car this morning was to reconsider breaking up with Sam."

A new song came on the radio, the Beatles, one of her mother's favorite bands. "Well that sounds like my mother. What other nuggets of parenting advice did she subtly give you to send along to me?"

Although she wasn't sure exactly what happened between them, Piper knew that relations between her mother and grandmother had been tense before Piper had even been born. "She says that you should look into my diet, she's never seen a girl eat s much as I do who can stay so thin."

Julia brushed a stray frizzy curl off her shoulder. "An excellent metabolism plus the three plus miles you run every day," she answered as though she were one of her students. "Next?"

Piper grinned at her. "She wants to know if you're dating again."

To this Julia laughed out loud. "With the real winners walking around Beacon Hills? Tell her to come here, and find an emotionally available unmarried man in his forties and then we'll talk."

"She also made a few comments that you probably let me stay out all hours."

They played this game the entire drive home and by the time Piper walked through the front door of her small house, she'd forgotten entirely about Liam Dunbar. Julia helped Piper carry her things in, prattling on about what she wanted for dinner and whether Piper minded terribly if they stopped by her office tomorrow morning before going back to school shopping. Piper didn't mind, she loved her mother's office. It was the strangest combination of classic literature and her mother's mania for all things mythological and mystical.

Wandering into her kitchen, Piper grabbed an apple from a large bowl on the counter. Julia stood next to her, rifling through the mail. "Nona also kept asking me some really weird questions," she added as an afterthought to their previous game.

"Oh? Like what?" Julia asked. Her faraway voice was a sure sign that she wasn't really listening, but Piper plowed on anyway.

"She kept asking me if I had any thoughts about the future and if I'd been having weird dreams."

Her mother stiffened for a split second before she continued the work of opening their utility bill. "That's nice, how about Chinese for dinner?"

X X X

On the Saturday morning before his senior year, Liam found Scott McCall already waiting for him at the entrance to one of the longer running paths in the preserve. Scott grinned at him and waved one arm over his head as Liam jogged to join him.

"Hey!" Scott's enthusiastic greeting relieved some of the nervous tension he'd felt since touching down in Beacon Hills two days earlier. It wasn't that Liam couldn't stay apart from the pack for extended periods of time, it was just that the world made better sense when he was within familiar territory. "How was lacrosse camp?"

As they stretched out, Liam launched into the full description of the American East Lacrosse Camp. Scott, who now played for Northern California State, listened with the rapt fascination that only came with a deep and abiding love for the sport. The pair started their run and let the top run itself out of steam before the subject of college lacrosse came up.

"Have you given any thought to if you want to play?"

Liam considered Scott's question at the same time as he counted beats to keep his pace. "I definitely want to play, my grades are okay, but not good enough to get into some of the schools I've been looking at."

Scott grinned apologetically, knowing full well that part of Liam's academic issues stemmed directly from the many misadventures and near death experiences the pack endured. Liam wouldn't soon forget the multiple murder attempts form his freshman year or the illegal trip to Mexico. Even now, he had the occasional nightmare about the berserkers.

"You played in front of college scouts last semester, right?" Asked Scott.

Their path began to wind to the right, pushing them deeper into the trees. "Yeah, there were some at AELC too."

Liam had a small stack of business cards tucked away in his desk drawer at home. His stepdad had told him to really think over his options. Future planning had never been Liam's strong suit, but his stepdad had a point, he was going to have to plan for life after college and life after lacrosse.

"I bet college visits start soon too," said Scott. "Hey! You should come up to Nor Cal for a weekend and hang out with Stiles and I."

It was a tempting thought, even to get away from the city for a weekend. Plus, Scott and Stiles had just moved into a tiny apartment off campus and were at the center of student life. "Yeah," said Liam slowly. "Yeah that'd be cool."

Scott beamed at him, always the encouraging and doting mentor. They fell into comfortable silence for several more minutes before Scott spoke up again. "So Kirsten Shields dumped you?"

Liam, so engrossed in his thoughts, hadn't expected that question. He stumbled a few steps before catching back up. "Dumped is a bit harsh."

"What would you call it then?" Asked Scott, fighting to keep his laughter down.

Irritation prickled in Liam's stomach. "Fine," he said through his clenched teeth. "She dumped me."

It was an experience he didn't particularly want to relive. "Dude, what happened?"

To this, Liam rolled his eyes. What was it with Scott and Stiles both wanting as much information about his personal life as humanly possible. Sometimes they were as bad as his mom, worse even. "I think it had something to do with me spending too much time with my lacrosse stick and not enough time with her."

Almost as soon as the worst left Liam's mouth he picked up on the unfortunately timed innuendo. It was Scotts turn to stumble along the path and both of them stopped. Scott doubled over to catch his breath and then tilted his head to look up at Liam. The two of them grinned at each other before Scott burst into laughter.

"What I mean," said Liam, attempting to clarify. "Is that she thought I spent too much time with practice and games to pay attention to her."

Liam knew this was only a half-truth, he knew the real reason why she'd dumped him. But he wasn't about to go tell anyone that. Even she swore she'd never tell anyone, but that was only out of her own sheer insult and mortification.

"Well," said Scott, still grinning. "Sounds like it'll be an interesting year."

**A/N: So there it is. Next chapter features Mason, the first day of school, and Stiles!**

**Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear if there were any parts or lines you really liked or if you have any predictions for what's going to happen! Much love - Brose**


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